Nine suspects planned terror attacks in Mumbai: ATS

<p>Nine suspects were arrested and a minor detained from Aurangabad and Mumbra recently for allegedly planning...Read More

MUMBAI: The suspects arrested for their alleged inclination towards the international terror outfit, IS, were planning to target some locations in Aurangabad, Mumbai and other parts of the country, said an officer of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday. Nine suspects were arrested and a minor detained from Aurangabad and Mumbra recently for allegedly planning to carry out terror strikes. The ATS was monitoring the activities of the suspects, following which the vigilance was increased manifold. The reason for choosing to target select locations in certain cities is also being analysed. A communication regarding the same has been passed on to the state, following which the security has been beefed up at vital installations, said the officer, who was part of the team that made the arrests. “We can say they were in the planning stage at the time of being arrested.” Sources said that from August 2018, the ATS successfully collected information about the suspects and their activities with the help of technical surveillance combined with human intelligence. The ATS got the first input about the suspects from Mumbra, following which their connection to Aurangabad came to fore. The suspects’ plan to attack select locations in Mumbai and Aurangabad was specifically mentioned in a complaint lodged by an ATS officer at the ATS police station at Kala Chowkie in Mumbai on January 22. Confirming the development, a senior officer said, “The targets identified by the suspects in these cities cannot be revealed at this stage.” The probe also reveals that the suspect from Mumbra was the first to get inspired by IS ideology and started bringing others into the fold without even informing them about the direction in which they were being driven.

The officer said that all details extracted from the suspects were being verified and cross-verified before taking them on record. “The suspects may even try to mislead the investigation team. Hence, ATS is busy cross-verifying every detail obtained from the suspects and keeping every information under the wraps,” he said. Around 20 teams of the state ATS carried out a series of raids in Aurangabad and Mumbra in Thane and arrested nine suspects including a 17-year-old. These arrests were followed by another raid on Saturday in which a 24-year-old from Mumbra was arrested. Four of the suspects are close relatives.